Turboprop aircraft manufacturer ATR is pleased to announce that the newest ATR ‘-600 series’ aircraft have just received their certification from the FAA, the American Federal Aviation Administration. This certification, for both the ATR 42-600 and the ATR 72-600, will enable the entry into service of these new aircraft in countries requiring FAA rather than EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certification. Thanks to the cooperation between the two agencies, the FAA relied in part on the work done by EASA to grant certification to the two models of the ATR ‘-600 series’.

All of the tests done by EASA, supplemented by the flights conducted by the FAA test pilots, were used to validate proper operation of the new systems and equipment installed onboard the aircraft, notably its new avionics suite: a new “glass cockpit” with 5 LCD screens, as well as new communication, navigation and monitoring systems, flight management system (FMS), automatic pilot, alert management and multi-purpose computer (MPC), which integrates aircraft maintenance and protection functions in particular.

“Obtaining this new certification will allow us to expand the commercial and operational scope of our family of aircraft,” stated Filippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR. “Since their launch, the ATR -600s have become the best-selling under-90-seat regional aircraft in the world, a success furthermore confirmed by their excellent operational reliability and their popularity with passengers. We are convinced that the FAA certification is going to open doors for us in high-potential markets, to replace turboprop aircraft from previous generations as well as jets, which are less and less cost-effective.”

Since the new ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 program was launched in October 2007, ATR has received orders for more than 300 aircraft from this new series. At present, almost two thirds of the under-90-seat regional aircraft on order the world over are ATRs from the new “-600” series.

About the ATR 72-600:

• Passenger capacity: 68 to 74 seats
• Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW 127M
• Maximum take-off power: 2,750 horsepower per engine
• Maximum take-off weight: 23,000 kg
• Maximum payload: 7,500 kg
• Maximum range when fully loaded: 900 nautical miles (1,665 km)

About the ATR 42-600:

• Passenger capacity: 46 to 50 seats
• Engines: Pratt & Whitney 127M
• Maximum take-off power: 2,400 horsepower per engine
• Maximum take-off weight: 18,600 kg
• Maximum payload: 5,500 kg
• Range when fully loaded: 800 nautical miles (1,483 km)